When the war began, Baldamus joined the German Air Service. After scoring five victories with FFA 20, he was reassigned to Jasta 5 but failed to score as a single-seat fighting pilot until he was posted to Jasta 9 in November 1916. He scored four victories by the end of the year and nine more victories in 1917. Following a mid-air collision with a Nieuport 17, Baldamus was credited with his 18th victory but was killed in the resulting crash. At the time of his death, he needed two more victories to be eligible for the Blue Max.